


Where You Hang Your Cowl

by glymr



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-12
Updated: 2010-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-08 21:50:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3224702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glymr/pseuds/glymr





	Where You Hang Your Cowl

Steph's really kind of panicking. Batman's out of town, Nightwing's far away in Bludhaven, Robin's with the Teen Titans, and Cass...Cass is lying in a pool of blood at her feet. 

"Oh, god, Cass," she whispers, terrified. "Oh, god. What do I do?"

And then *he* shows up, like a guardian angel. "Elevate her legs," he says briskly as he puts his hands on the wound, heedless of the blood. "Good." He strips off his coat. "Wrap this around her." He takes something from some hidden pocket and slaps it on the wound. "She's gonna be alright."

"Is she?" Steph asks, blinking hard.

"Yeah," he says, and he's so confident, so _sure_ , that it makes Steph sure, too.

"Okay," she says.

* * *

He takes them to one of his hideouts, a basement inaccessible by any normal means. Between the two of them they get Cass inside and laid down on the big bed in the corner of the large room. It's unexpectedly clean and bright, with large overhead lights. There's a corner with a full-size fridge, a sink and counter, and in the opposite corner a small, curtained-off side area that Steph assumes is a bathroom. She gazes around the place in surprise. "Did you do this yourself?" she asks.

"A lot of it, yeah," Red Hood admits. He's taken off his mask, revealing an ordinary face with a domino underneath. "It's not hard, if you know where to look."

"We're getting blood on your sheets," says Steph, at a loss for anything else to say.

Red Hood shrugs. "So?"

Steph doesn't reply, just climbs into the bed next to Cass. "So...thank you," she mumbles eventually, cuddling Cass close.

"No problem," he says, and there's a weird tone in his voice. He stands there for a minute, then says, "I'm going to get supplies." Before Steph can look up, he's disappeared out one of the hidden exits.

* * *

The next day, when Cass _finally_ opens her eyes, Steph feels relief stab through her. "Cass," she whispers, blinking hard. "I was afraid you'd never wake up."

Cass shifts and winces slightly. "What...?" she asks, her words slurred.

"You were wounded - stabbed. I didn't know what to do," whispers Steph.

Blinking, Cass sweeps her eyes around the room. "Where?"

"We're at one of his hideouts. Oh, Cass, if it hadn't been for him -"

"Who?"

"Me," says Hood, and Cass turns her head quickly and winces again. "You need to try to stay still," he says, handing her a bottle with a straw in it. "Do you think you can drink this?"

"...yes," she says faintly, and tries to reach for the bottle, but Steph gets there first.

"Let me," she says, holding the straw carefully to the other girl's mouth. Cass seems mildly amused, but she drinks thirstily anyway.

* * *

Cass heals pretty fast, but it takes awhile before she's really back on her feet again. Steph does her best to manage on her own, going out as Spoiler every night and staying in with Cass every day that she can. She hardly spends any time at home anymore. Fortunately her mom's been working a lot of double-shifts lately. Steph knows that's partly her fault. The city's just too big for her to manage by herself, and even with the Birds and Catwoman and Red Hood doing their share...she hates to admit it, even to herself, but they really need Batman.

Mostly she works alone, at first, but pretty soon Red Hood starts showing up. Not every time, and never unless she's in a tough spot, but often enough to be a trend.

"Thanks," she gasps as he knocks down a thug that was trying to get the drop on her. Normally she'd have been able to handle him herself, but she's exhausted and her reactions are slower than they should be.

Once all the bad guys are down, Hood looks at her for a long moment, his face hidden by the blank, red helmet he always wears outside his hideout. Finally he speaks, his voice echoing and strange from inside the metal shell. "Go back to base," he says. "I'll finish up here. Go check on Batgirl."

Steph sways a little on her feet, trying not to betray how appealing that sounds to her. "I _can't_ ," she says faintly. "There's too much-"

"Gotham won't collapse without you," he says roughly, though she knows without any self-aggrandizement that, at this point, it *might*. "It's bad enough without Batgirl; the last thing we need is for you to get yourself hurt, too."

"But, you-"

"I slept this afternoon," he said, his voice harsh, "While you were in *school*. _Go_." His tone brooks no disagreement. It's a measure of just how tired she is that Steph doesn't even try to argue with him. She gives him a nod and goes.

* * *

When she gets there, Cass is sitting at the table, cutting up some vegetables.

"What are you making?" asks Steph.

"Soup," replies Cass. Steph nods and sits down. Cass looks up at her with that careful, watchful look she always has when she's *really* reading someone. "Go lie down," she says finally.

"I should-"

"Go," she says. "Food later." Her voice is firm, and Steph finds herself getting up and walking over to the bed and collapsing on it. At some point someone - probably Hood - swapped out the bloodstained sheets for fresh ones. She has just enough time to be grateful before sliding into oblivion.

* * *

One day Steph realizes that they've fallen into a routine. Meet up at the base, update each other with the latest intel. Go their separate ways, but check in on each other whenever possible. Meet back up again, bring or make something to eat (they take turns). Eat, sleep, get up an hour or two before dawn, and go their separate ways into their daylight lives.

It's strange, because nights with Cass and Jason feel more real to Steph than her daytime life. The base certainly feels more like home than the cave ever did.

They don't spend much time training. The city is their obstacle course, their training grounds, and each night they fight to stave off the chaos a little longer.

And slowly, with the help of Oracle and the Birds...they're actually winning.

At least for now.

* * *

"No!" Jason's yell echoes around the large underground space. "No! No!" Steph and Cass are both up and off the big bed they share in seconds, Steph bending over Jason's cot to catch his flailing wrists as Cass switches on the light.

"Wake up!" shouts Steph, shocking Jason out of his dream state. "It's not real, Jason!"

He gasps and shudders, the transition too sudden. " _No!_ " He goes limp and she lets go of his arms. He throws one over his face and gives a convulsive sob.

Helplessness overwhelms Steph. What should she do? Cass presses forward, perching on the edge of the cot and wrapping her hand around Jason's. He twines his fingers with hers, gripping hard. Steph watches them together, a weird, dissatisfied feeling in her gut.

* * *

He still kills. Not often, and never in front of either of them, but she knows it happens. She wonders why he hasn't killed the Joker yet. She doesn't ask.

* * *

One day, all three of them are there together after a long, tense night of patrolling. The city's been quiet, but it's the quiet before a storm, and all of them are on edge, snapping at each other at the slightest provocation. The frying pan spits a small drop of hot grease on her arm. Jason swears at her, even as he examines the wound with gentle hands. Cass watches them both, silent as usual.

"Damn it," explodes Steph, close to tears. She wants to scream, or cry, or hit something. But it's not like they can *make* crime happen.

So Steph flings the cold pack Jason's trying to press against her arm across the kitchen, making him shout, "What the _fuck_?" at her, and then Cass is kissing her, mouth soft and warm against hers.

"Cass - I - Cass - What?" All her anger is gone as though by magic, transmuted into utter confusion. Cass kisses her again. It makes something inside of her _sing_ , makes her grip the other girl's shoulders and pull her closer, taking control of the kiss.

Cass smiles against her lips, then breaks away and turns to look at - Steph turns her head, too.

Jason's standing there, his eyes wide and his mouth a little open, a blush stealing across his cheeks. He looks _young_ , like he must have looked as Robin, once upon a time, Steph thinks. He clears his throat. "I'll just, um - " he says, taking a step back.

Quick as light, Cass surges forward, catching his wrist.

"Stay," is all she says. She tugs him toward them, and he stumbles forward unresistingly.

"But-" he says. Cass kisses him.

His eyes go even wider. He glances at Steph, clearly worried, but she just shrugs and grins at him. And when Cass releases him, Steph looks at her and Cass nods. "You now," she says.

So Steph kisses Jason, and...it's different from kissing Cass, but just as wonderful. His rough stubble scratches her cheek, and his mouth tastes faintly of coffee. There's a faint undertone of cigarettes, too, but not quite enough to make her stop kissing him.

Eventually they stop. Jason loosens his grip on her waist and takes a step backwards, looking at both of them. He swallows. "I..." he says hoarsely, and looks away from them. "I haven't...I mean, I have but not with...I - "

Steph blinks. "Jason," she says slowly, disbelievingly. "Are you a _virgin_?"

He blushes. "Sort of," he mumbles. "I mean I - I've done some things, but not...not like...not the...with the..." he trails away in embarrassment, then snaps, "I was fucking fourteen when I was killed, okay?"

Steph takes a step forward and wraps her arm around his waist. "It's okay," she says. Hesitating, she looks into his eyes. "Is this...what you want?"

" _Yes_ ," he says, almost shouts. "I've been thinking about you - *both* of you - since that first night- " he stops, closing his eyes. Without looking away, Steph reaches out. Cass comes to her, fitting her hand into Steph's, and both of them press Jason between them, Cass's head on the back of his shoulder, Steph's on his chest over his heart.

"Good," says Steph. "Because it's what I want, too." She squeezes Cass's hand. Cass squeezes back. Jason opens his eyes. "I'll show you how," says Steph, and smiles. "Both of you."

* * *

Steph wakes first, blinking and yawning. It's a good thing she's trained her body to get up just before dawn, because none of them were actually thinking about setting the alarm clock last night. She slips out of her side of the bed, stepping over the used condoms on the floor and finding her way by feel to their bathroom in the corner.

When she comes back, Jason shifts as she slides in beside him. She really should get up, but she's warm, and relaxed and...she hasn't felt this good in a long time. Jason rolls over and snuggles up to her. Cass snakes a hand over Jason and finds Steph's.

Steph falls asleep again with her arm draped over Jason, her fingers intertwined with Cass's. As she's drifting away she thinks, "We're gonna need a bigger bed."


End file.
